Left At The Altar, Now I Burn His Empire

The photograph slipped from my fingers, hitting the hardwood floor.

Sarah rushed into the bedroom, stopping short when she saw my face. "Evie? What is it?"

I didn't answer. I pivoted toward the laundry chair in the corner of the room. Kael's charcoal suit jacket—the one he wore to our rehearsal dinner last night—hung over the armrest. I patted the side pockets. Empty. I reached into the breast pocket.

Paper crinkled against my fingertips.

I yanked out a crumpled blue-and-white sheet. The logo for Manhattan General Hospital stamped the top corner.

"He isn't in Paris," I said, my voice eerily steady.

Sarah stepped closer, reading over my shoulder. "Patient Admission. Serena Monroe. Diagnosis: Acute Myocardial Infarction. Time of admission: 1:15 PM."

Exactly forty-five minutes before I was supposed to walk down the aisle.

"Who is Serena?" Sarah asked.

"An old ghost." I crushed the paper in my fist. "His first love. She moved to London five years ago."

"Your dad's security team tracked his car to the airport."

"A decoy," I snapped, tossing the crumpled paper onto the mattress. "He filed a fake flight plan to keep the press away."

I grabbed the heavy silk of my wedding gown and marched toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To get my fiancé."

The VIP cardiac wing on the tenth floor was dead silent. I ignored the receptionist shouting at me from the front desk. My bare feet slapped against the linoleum—I had ditched my uncomfortable shoes in the SUV.

Room 1042.

I shoved the heavy wooden door open. It slammed against the wall stopper.

Kael sat in a leather armchair beside the hospital bed. He didn't even flinch at the noise. He just kept holding the pale, fragile hand of the woman lying in the sheets.

Serena Monroe.

Her blonde hair fanned out across the pillow. The monitors beeped in a steady, rhythmic pulse.

Kael finally turned his head. His dark eyes locked onto my white dress, sweeping over the lace bodice before settling on my face.

"You shouldn't be here, Evelyn," he said softly.

"You left me standing at the altar."

"Keep your voice down. She is resting."

I closed the distance between us, stopping at the foot of the bed. "Five hundred people, Kael. My father. The press. You humiliated me."

He released Serena's hand and stood up. He smoothed the front of his dress shirt. "It was an emergency."

"You could have called."

"And say what?" His jaw tightened. "That the woman I used to love collapsed in her hotel room? That she almost died?"

"You let my father think you fled the country."

"I needed privacy. The media would have turned this hospital into a circus."

"So you made me the clown instead."

Kael crossed his arms. "Stop making this about you. Serena's parents passed away last year. She has no family left. She was completely alone when her heart gave out."

"She is not your responsibility."

"I am not having this argument with you right now." He pointed toward the door. "Go home. We will talk tomorrow."

"We are talking right now."

A weak cough broke the tension.

Serena stirred, her eyelids fluttering open. She looked at Kael first, her gaze soft and entirely focused on him. Then she noticed me. Her eyes widened, pooling with instant tears.

"Kael," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I'm so sorry. Did I ruin your wedding?"

Kael immediately leaned over the bed, his demeanor shifting from ice to warmth. "Don't apologize. You needed me."

"But Evelyn..." Serena let a single tear slip down her cheek. "She looks so angry. Please, go back to her. I can survive on my own."

"You had a severe cardiac event, Serena. I am not leaving you."

I stared at the two of them. The sheer audacity of her performance made my stomach churn. She wasn't sorry. The slight upward curve of her lips when Kael turned his back to me proved it.

"Get up," I told her.

Kael whipped around. "Excuse me?"

"I said get up." I stepped around the foot of the bed. "You survived the heart attack. You have nurses. You don't need my husband."

"He isn't your husband yet," Serena murmured.

"Shut your mouth."

Kael stepped into my path, blocking my view of the bed. "Have you lost your mind? She is a patient."

"She is manipulating you!"

"You are being completely unreasonable." Kael glared at me, his expression hardening into pure disgust. "I thought you were a compassionate woman, Evelyn. I thought you had a heart. Look at her. She is fighting for her life, and all you care about is a party and a dress."

"I care about respect. You abandoned our future for her."

"I did what I had to do."

"Then so will I." I reached for the diamond ring on my left hand.

The door opened behind me. Two men in black suits stepped into the room. Kael's private security.

"Marcus," Kael said, not breaking eye contact with me. "Escort Evelyn out of the building."

The larger of the two men stepped forward. "Miss Kensington. Please come with us."

"Don't touch me." I took a step back, my voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "You are throwing me out?"

"You are causing a scene," Kael replied. "Go home, Evelyn. Cool off. I will call you when Serena is stable."

"If you make them drag me out that door, Kael, there is no coming back from this. We are done."

He didn't hesitate.

"Take her to the car, Marcus."

The bodyguard clamped a heavy hand onto my shoulder. I violently shoved him off, my blood boiling.

"I can walk myself."

I turned my back on the man I had spent three years loving. I didn't look at Serena. I didn't shed a single tear. I kept my spine completely straight as I marched out of the hospital room, my wedding gown dragging across the sterile floor.

The elevator ride down to the lobby was suffocating. Marcus stood silently beside me, ensuring I didn't turn back.

I stepped out into the humid New York air. The streetlights flickered against the dark pavement.

My phone buzzed in my hand.

I stared at the screen. It was my father.

I swiped the green icon and brought the speaker to my ear.

"Evelyn," his deep voice crackled through the line. "Did you find him?"

I looked up at the tenth-floor window of the hospital. A shadow moved behind the glass.

"I found him."

"And?"

I gripped the phone tight enough to crack the case.

"Ruin him, Dad. Ruin everything."

"Consider it done." The line clicked dead.

I lowered the phone, a cold sense of finality washing over me. Kael Mercer thought he could discard me like trash. He thought I was just a sweet, understanding girl who would wait quietly while he played savior to his ex.

He had no idea what a Kensington was capable of.

A black town car pulled up to the curb, but before I could reach for the handle, the rear window rolled down.

The man sitting in the backseat wasn't my driver.

He had piercing gray eyes, a sharp jawline, and an aura that screamed absolute danger.

"Need a ride, bride?" he asked, a wicked smirk playing on his lips.